UT football: Higgins, Gold get scholarships

Two players expected to play significant roles on the field for Texas this fall now won’t have to pay to attend classes off it.

Senior punter John Gold and junior defensive tackle Tyrell Higgins both have been awarded scholarships by the Longhorns, UT coach Mack Brown announced Wednesday.

Gold, a Palestine product who walked on as a sophomore in 2008, is the Longhorns’ first-string punter heading into the season. In part-time duty last year, he averaged 44.1 yards on 15 punts and earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors for the second time.

Higgins, who signed a scholarship offer from UT out of Schertz Clemens in 2007, left the program temporarily before returning as a walk-on last season. He should be one of four tackles defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will use regularly this fall.

In a statement released by UT, Brown said the decision to give Gold and Higgins scholarships was unanimous among staff members. The two players were mobbed by teammates when the announcement was made at a team meeting.

“It’s crazy to see how much they really care and how excited they got to see that happen to me,” Higgins said. “I didn’t realize they’d cared that much about the opportunity or the situation I was in for them to get so excited about it. I definitely felt a lot in my heart to see how they reacted.”

Said Gold: “I was about to fall down because somebody was holding my legs and my head kept going down, but they got me. It was so cool having all my teammates supporting me and so happy for me. It means a lot.”